Rose Wars
by Laura Huser
Summary: Chapter 8 Up! 30 years have passed, and even with Amshel gone, Diva's daughters are in danger of being used. Can Saya save her neices from the same fate as their mother? First Blood fic, be nice! RR
1. Chapter 1

The dilapidated floor of the family tomb made a callous "slap" sounds when she first hit it, palms first against the cold stone to brace her uncoordinated decent from her resting place. She tried her best to come down easily, but soon landed with a thud, a mass of flowing black hair and nude limbs. Her clothing had long since disintegrated, leaving a fine gray dust across her skin, and even her state she could tell it was dead winter.

Saya curled up in a ball, cooing slightly in the dark. These were always the most frightening moments when she first woke, before her mind or eyes had cleared, when the world consisted only of feeling, sound, and unbound thoughts. Saya let out a gurgled moan, her throat thirty years too dry. Her heart was pumping faster by the moment, desperately trying to revive her long dead limbs. The sound of it rushed in her ears, blotting out the outer world.

This time had been so different….

Three sleeps, each one had been as near pleasant as they could have been. Saya would be tucked in by Haji and be asleep before the coffin lid was closed, and what seemed like a blink of an eye later she would be out again, tucked in his arms as she woke. Memories had been softly dimmed and sunk to the bottom of her mind until blood floated them back to the surface. But this time…

Saya had not rested peacefully, she had experienced cold, hunger, she even woke a few times to wrestle against the tightness of the cocoon before drifting off restlessly again. And the memories… her father, Riku, Diva, Haji, they stayed with her in the form of dreams. She had awoken in the worst state possible, completely aware of her situation.

She was alone.

She was alone there in the emptiness of the tomb. No one waited for her, no one was there to bring her clothes, or her first meal, or take her someplace safe to recover, not even to tell her what kind of world was waiting beyond the doors of her sanctuary. Saya was as helpless as a newborn. Time held little meaning in times like these. She laid there for what might have been a few moments or a few hours before she finally rolled over and forced herself to all fours.

"I have to get up…" Saya yelled suddenly, making a brash move to her feet. She wobbled a bit, desperate to gain control, before falling headfirst against a nearby wall. When the room stopped spinning she tried again, and again, and again. Saya remained still on the fifth occasion she found herself prone on the floor, head swimming from too many hits against the floor.

Dark eyes slid shut and she succumb to the floaty feeling swirling form the pit of her stomach. She found herself adrift in the ocean she loved so much, clouds passing in a distorted dance above the surface of the water, sand and time passing beneath her. Saya let herself drift, content to stay in that happy place as long as her misty mind would allow.

A wave welled up under her, raising her robustly into the warm waters of the surface. Memories crashed over her.

"Maybe when I wake next time, there will be no one who remembers me." Worried the dark haired girl of her past.

"I will always be waiting for you. Even if you turn into something else. Even if we are separated, I will find you…."

Saya was in a dream within a dream, and she desperately wanted to stay, reaching for her companion. But often even her own mind was cruel, and the man before her slipped through her fingers like so much sand. Her mouth parted to cry out, but something else flooded in… warm and salty metallic, like seawater. She drowned willingly and her body suddenly overloaded and shut down.

Blood.

Blood everywhere. On the floor, on the walls, on her legs, face, on her hands. They were all dead before her, under her sword.

What had she done, and more importantly, why? She had killed off her own kind, none left. And now she was alone for eternity, an immortal who hated life. No one was left with the strength to finish it. She had lost that opportunity

Saya woke with a start. Waking from a dream like that often felt like closing a horrible book and looking up to realize you're home and safe. It was her only source of relief from her past. The bed was unfamiliar, that was the first thing she noticed. Saya sat up suddenly, one fist balled, the other hand seeking her sword against the night stand, an old habit. She found nothing, no weapon, no opponent. Frustration gripped her as she rubbed her eyes, driving out the fog that pervaded them, she needed to know she was, and she needed to know now! This place smelled too clean… a hospital?... a research facility?

Saya ripped her hands away from her mahogany brown eyes and scratched them down everything she saw before her. It was not a hospital, at least not one she's ever seen. The room was dim, a clean beam of light coming though the slightly cracked door. Clumsily she flipped on the bedside light and blinked against the burning white flood.

The room was stark to say the least. It was a standard bedroom in the sense of furnishing, a bedside table at each hand, a chest of draws against the right wall, and of course the bed she was on. It was in the most strictly modern style, black lacquered wood against striking white walls, accents of silver draw pulls and clothing hooks shown in the light.

Saya ran her hands down her sides, feeling the bedding. It too was white and crisp. In fact it was peaked with the hard crests of fold marks, as if it had just been taken out of the packaging unwashed.

"What kind of person lives here?" She whispered to herself. This place had the disconcerting feeling of being too perfect. A chill ran through here, even though the room was perfectly heated, and her clothes were warm…

Her clothes….

She suddenly thrust out her arms to wonder at the fabric that had apparently magically appeared on her body, black sleeves that reached much past her fingers. Saya found herself swimming in a coat many sizes to big and zipped up to her chin. The feeling of it was familiar, even if she had never worn it herself.

Saya flung herself from the bed, stopping suddenly on her feet just to make sure she was stable enough to stand. To her surprise she was, and she wasted no time in getting to the wardrobe and tore the drawers open. Neatly folded white shirts and black slacks were stacked perfectly in each.

"White, black, white black, white black." She chanted. Slamming the draws shut she tore for the door and fell headlong into another room. Wooden floor shone brightly in the stylishly lit room. Perfect snow white couches and slick black leather arms chairs, glass tables and black and white photos of Paris. The one warm feature of the room was a fireplace that glowed with a soft at the far wall. The warm orange blush bounced against the sharp edges of the room and danced softly up a curved form that stuck out in a room of sharp edges.

Saya felt herself begin to shake so hard she nearly lost her footing. Crumpling next to the shape and let her fingers slide over the ancient wood. So satin smooth and warm, the strings aching under her fingers. A cello.

"Haji…" came the unintentional whisper of her voice. And then it came louder, "Haji!" A smile broke over Saya's face as she flew through the rooms. "Haji! Haji!? Haji?" She came to a stop next to the fire place again, the smile melting away. Empty rooms, an empty apartment.

kicking herself mentally for her childish behavior, Saya tried to bring herself back into the hard cold world she found herself in. Leave behind the dreams. She herself had seen Haji for the last time, his good arm ripped away, Amshel's claw stuck clean through his chest. The hard thick walls of the MET had crushed him. She had seen the planes drop their bombs, and the mushroom cloud burst greedily into the sky. Saya felt so stupid, not even Haji could have possibly…. And besides the cello was without it's other half, it's case. The cello case and Haji were interchange, where you saw one you saw the other, and the case was mysteriously absent. No case, no Haji.

So what was this place, it looked so much like him, it felt so much like him, it even smelled like him, clean. And this cello, this god damn cello so perfectly placed. She took her place to stare out the window, her mind working out this puzzle.

Okinawa had changed much, become bigger, more crowded, brighter, but still recognizable. She wondered if Kai was still out there, or David. They must be so much older by now. But still living? They were not here, either because they did not know she was awake, they were not alive, or they were being kept away. She desperately wanted to see Kia again, or David even though it felt like she knew them centuries ago. She was desperate for news.

Saya wondered what kind of world she looked down at now. Was it a world still blissfully ignorant of Chiropterans, or a world overrun with them? She watched the people passing below, so happy so rushed. They seemed normal. Or perhaps Saya was wrong to have spared her sister's children, perhaps Amshel's dream had come true. A world full of queens. Was the woman on the street corner a queen, or the man at the bus stop a chevalier? No, there hadn't been enough time for that. But maybe they were out there somewhere, beyond her sight, waiting for her to leave this strange place. Waiting for the battle to begin again.

This place… her thought came back to it. She was in the corner apartment of a high sky rise. Not a penthouse, but not a poor man's roost either. It was hardly what you would call lived in. Someone she didn't know had brought her here, left her. It had obviously been set up with the pretense… well the cloths and the cello, even though she knew it was impossible… Whoever set this waking place up for her must have had it in mind to comfort her, bring her out gently, make her feel at home… avoid a Vietnam. What kind of people would do that, or persons? Whose hands was she in? Red Shield? If it was Red Shield, what was their current incarnation like? What was their mission now? And if it was not, what other organization, and what were their purposes for her? The thought scared her.

Saya knew she needed to get out of there. She knew little of how the world worked now, and she had no cloths or money or transportation, or friends, perhaps not even anyone who even knew what she was anymore. She would need to feed, how would she get her transfusions, she could not go to just any hospital. A pit hit Saya's stomach, would she have to find her own blood, would she have to be like those she fought? She would rather waste away from anemia. But it remained, she had to get out, she had to find the right people. They must be out there. She didn't really know how she would go about doing it, it's not like she could take out an ad in the paper, 'queen of the chiropterans looking for a Red Sheild-esque organization.' She only knew of one place to go, Omoro.

Determined she stopped by a mirror, the image that stared back made her ill. Her hair cascaded down her back, she was pale as a sheet, and her dark eyes now glowed a soft red in her fear. The coat, cut so precisely like _his_ hung on her shoulders loosely. Disgusted that someone would lie to her so she ripped it off. In the bedroom Saya ripped though the cloths. Drawful after drawful of identical slack and button down shirts, she could make something work…

Then a thought hit her, what if they had put trackers in the cloths. They gave her so little choice in cloths to force her to wear something they could track…. She threw the clothes down like so much rubbish. "Fine. I'll show you how smart you are." And with that the sheet was off the bed and wrapped around her. She would find clothing when she was sure they could be trusted. And with that comforting thought she reached for the doorknob.

Saya picked her head off the floor and raised herself on her hands; the taste of blood washed into her mouth and just as quickly it was gone. It took her a moment to realize what had happed. The door had hit her smack on the side of the head, pushed hard from the other side. Saya heaved, seething with anger as she continued to stare at the floor. So she was going to have to fight her way out huh? Her assailant moved in, his polished black shoe coming into view on the floor near her.

"Going out like that?"


	2. Chapter 2

Saya's eyes popped open. The voice, deep and dark and a little flat, though not as flat as she remembered. She spun around on her knees. Shaking again, this time so hard she had to try twice to take to her feet. Saya felt herself stumble, as was glad to find herself buried in his chest, and not just because she avoided the hard smack of the floor again.

"Where have you been!?" Saya screamed out. The past half hour seemed like a one of those dreams that made no sense yet seemed so real, and she was now finally standing breathless in reality. Not much else made sense, but there was finally something real and familiar to hold on to.

"Forgive me." She detected a hint of a laugh in his voice… a laugh.

Saya looked up into those blue gray eyes and found what she always found there but had only recently recognized. "No! You are not forgiven, and you have not answered me! Haji!"

"I went out for food for you. I thought I had time, I thought you'd sleep longer." Haji tried to wrap one bag laded arm around her to answer her death grip around him. Grimacing Haji side stepped to the kitchen, taking her with him. "Let me put the food on a plate, you must be hungry."

She was but also extremely annoyed. "How can you be so emotionless!?" it seemed like an odd question to ask a man like Haji, but she thought it was valid given the situation.

"This time is just like the others. This is your fourth awaking, I've got a routine. And I know you are starving."

"It's not like the others. It's different. Everything feels so different…" her voice trailed off and her arms fell from him to her sides.

Haji looked away to hid the look in his eyes. "You're just confused from lack of food." And with that he began spooning the take out onto plates… white plates.

Saya was still bereft, but took the seat and food he offered. It was not until three cartons later that she was able to sit back and breathe enough to speak. "Tell me everything."

Haji looked at her with a hint of amusement, but quickly wiped the look from his face. "What do you want to know?"

"How are you alive! What happed after I slept?! What happened to the babies? Are there still chiropterans?!" She was exasperated. What did he thinks she meant!?

"Later, you need to rest."

"No. I demand to know. I wont be treated like a child, not like last time. I lost so many people last time because I was coddled like a child…"

Haji nodded. "Your first question. I almost didn't live. After the bombing…" He stopped to spoon more food onto her plate. "After the bombing the US government poured a slap of concrete over the MET and stated to build over it. Luckily one of the contractors hired to pour the foundations had operatives installed by Red Shield. They dug in the approximate location that David reported I had been last seen."

"Haji…" she set down her fork. "Trapped under the wreckage that long…"

"I don't remember. Red shield claims when they found me I was in a state of hibernation. They aren't sure why, since sleep is impossible for a chevalier. They could only guess that I had lost enough blood to prevent me from healing myself, but not enough to die. The rubble itself protected me from burning to death in the explosion." Haji added. He couldn't see Saya's face anymore, she had stopped eating, but her face was still bent to the plate. "Red Shield, for some reason I am not entirely comfortable with, had some of your blood on storage. They used the last of it to heal me… it took time. By the time they dug me out you were already showing signs of sleep coming on."

"They never told me they were planning on digging… they never told me you had been found." Saya's voice cracked.

"David didn't want to upset you… in case they found nothing or in case they could not revive me. At least… that's what he says. I think he did not want you to see me the way I was. When they pulled me out… there wasn't much recognizable. What else to you wish to know."

"How is David now… and Kia… the girls…" She whispered.

"David is an old man now, but his mind is clear. He married Julia and they had a child. Kia continued to run Omoro until the fire. The girls are older."

Saya shook her heads. Too much information and too quickly. Not to mention that Haji was being vague to say the least. "Are there chiropterans? Is Diva really gone… are all of her chevaliers?"

Haji bristled visibly, was she asking about _him? _"She is in fact dead. You saw that yourself. There have been reports of Nathan being alive, though it can't be explained why your sword did not kill him. I believe it must have gone dry of blood by the time it cut through him. The question remains of who dug him out though, and why. No other chevaliers have been seen." He added with a pointed tongue, but regretted it immediately. It was not his place.

"Red Shield. Do we still have friends?"

"After the death of all of the Goldsmith family their vast empire of companies broke up. Many of them were bought up by the US government, who were eager to clean and hid their mess. Much allotted from the selling and condensing of the companies was given to reform Red Shield. The organization now works as a system of check and balances for all companies dealing with chiropterans and the D-base to make sure nothing is done out of turn. Red shield also exists to protect the last remaining queens and find new use for them.

Her mind switched to other gears. How had Haji been. So this was his apartment. She felt foolish for the paranoid story her mind had worked out. She had always been to selfish before, never asking what Haji did while she slept. She realized now she was chronologically the smallest part of his life, only staying a few years with him at a time, and then leaving him be for 30 years. The bulk of his living he did on his own. This part of his life was a mystery to her. She had never seen where he had lived while she slept, and now she was in a place that was uniquely his, and none of hers. What did he do and how did he survive?

As if reading her mind, Haji switched subjects. "Upon rebuilding Red Shield the organization set up a large account and estate to be their base of operation, and to be a safe home for your family. I was given back pay starting from my first dealings with Red Shield in Vietnam, a large gift of money, plus monthly compensation for looking after your resting place. Not having many needs I didn't spend a lot of the money, most of it is in an account. In addition I earn a little bit of money for playing in the orchestra of the local opera."

"You do not live with the others?" Saya rubbed her arms, suddenly cold. Before he had thought Haji dead, it had been her dream that once she was gone Haji might live with Kia and her family, that he would not be alone this time.

"I see them, but Red Manor is a ways away, and I need to stay here." He forced the smile from his lips when she looked at him puzzlingly. He stood and went to the window, motioning for her to follow. "See, this place has a wonderful view."

She followed his gaze, far over the city, to where the little family tomb hovered on the mountain side. It broke her. Saya fell into Haji's ever waiting arms and cried against his chest until at long last only dry heaves were left. "Do I have to fight anymore?" She demanded suddenly, she wanted to know before she made her next move.

"We've talked enough about the subject. Don't demand anymore right now, please." Saya nodded in agreement. "You're still wearing my bed sheet."

She followed him into the bedroom once more where he took a box from the top shelf of the closet, and blew the thick layer of dust away. Saya lifted the lid and slid the contents onto the bed. A pair of tan cords and a pretty knit pink sweater. A set of intimates were the last to fall in a frilly cascade onto the sheets. They where pink and lacy, and a few other adjectives.

"Julia" He quickly commented. "brought the box over a long time ago for you….I never looked inside."

"I think they're pretty, don't you?" Saya smiled. It had been a long time since she had the excuse to wear something so impractical and feminine, maybe even all the way back to her time at the Zoo. She had been a warrior, and these were the cloths of a lady.

Haji turned and left the room silently, the sound of running water filled the air a moment later. She followed the sound to find him bent over the tub. The bathroom was clean and sparse. A comb sat perfectly square on the counter along with men's bath accruements lined up by size. Haji did not eat or sleep, but did bath. It seemed to be the one human luxury he still enjoyed. The bathroom had more character than the whole house put together. "When do we go to Red Manor? When do I see the family?" Saya couldn't resist, she mixed up the order of the bottles and tilted the comb.

"It's early morning now, or late at night, however you want to look at it. We can leave tomorrow mid morning. I have a performance in the orchestra tomorrow night, I'll go and cancel."

"No!" Saya yelled and looked sheepish suddenly. "You don't have to do such a thing just for me." Once again, it was an odd thing to say to Haji. "It's been thirty years. I can wait one more night. We will stay tomorrow… here. You can perform, I'd like to see it if you'd allow." She couldn't help herself, she was so interested in it all. Haji had been by her side for over 100 years and now she felt like she knew little to nothing about him.

"If that is what you wish."

Saya cast her eyes in amusement to a large basket from an expensive store overflowing with ladies bath products, soaps and shampoos, scrubs and lotions all tied up in with a large red ribbon and tissue paper. She smiled and ran the silk bow through her fingers. "Julia again?"

"No." Haji gave a small bow, like a materadee at a fancy restaurant and latched the door behind him as he left.

Saya stared at the place he had been for a long time, wondering. With a sigh she hung the bed sheet on a hook and took the soap from the basket, holding it under her nose for a moment. Lilac and rose.

The water was hot, hotter than anything she had experienced in a long time. It melted away the fine dust across her skin and softened her hair. As she piled the wet strands behind her head she took note of the roughly cut ends. Haji always cut her hair to the small of her back in order to move her when she first woke. Later he would cut it in a close crop, the easiest style for a warrior. They did have a routine, but still, this time felt different.

Outside the door she heard the soft murmur of a phone conversation, she strained to hear.

"Sir... No... I understand… I will bring her as promised…No not tomorrow… No not tomorrow… I am not disobeying; I am obeying my true master…" There was a long pause. "It was not meant as a criticism… I only ask for one day, I don't see why it should be a problem… You're asking me if I'll look after her?…. I understand… Thank you. Please do me one more favor… don't tell Kai. Keep it quiet until day after tomorrow. I think you understand why… you are very kind."

In the sanctuary of the bath, Saya found herself alone with her mind again, and it was disquiet again. Kai… he must be an old man, in his 50's by now. What would he be like now? Would they still feel close to each other, or she now a long ago childhood memory to him? And the girls were there, how had they turned out with the proper raising? Haji had been so unclear! And Haji… he was alive, the shock of it all hit her just then. When he had arrived with food there was a familiar feeling of "Well of course he was here, the always is." But she now realized there had been an equal chance of the opposite. Her sister was gone, everything was different now. All she had known had changed, and she had no purpose anymore. A sick feeling overtook her and she tried to climb out of the bath, but all of her limbs went heavy and numb. The last thing she felt was the water come up over her mouth.

"Saya." Two strong hands pulled her, coughing and sputtering, into the crisp air. Haji pulled her wet frame to his chest, soaking his snow white shirt. "You're still a little weak. You need to feed more."

She felt one of his hands flutter to his collar and the other to the back of her head. Warm skin pressed to her lips, the hard cord of his neck muscles pulsed with a gentle heartbeat against her. Hunger welled, yet she jerked her head away. Haji caught her head and pushed her back rather forcefully. "You need blood. There is no avoiding that fact. Accept it… You aren't like her."

"Yes, I am." She whispered against his skin.

"She took, you receive." He had just gotten the words out when sharp teeth sunk into him. Haji's jaw slapped shut to avoid the shuttering gasp. She drank, probably less than she should, then released and fell limp.

Saya rolled in a dreamy state, in the ocean again. Waves lapping at her body, caressing… smelling of roses. After a moment she let her eyes glide open, the heady feeling slowly letting her go. She watched for a moment before she realized she wasn't dreaming anymore. "Haji…"

His hands stopped immediacy and lowered the washcloth and soap. "Forgive me. Do I not have permission?" His face was turned away, and his voice ever so flat.

"It's not that… You have my permission." She watched him a moment more as he raised one foot and ran the soft cloth down the leg, trailing a spring of bubbles. "Your hands…" How could she not have noticed before? The right hand that now ran across her bear stomach was pale, and soft, and… normal.

"When they dug me from under the MET they rescued what little they could of my left arm and other parts. The damage was extensive, and there was a concern that too much was missing for me to regenerate a full body. So I was given infusions of the D-base to send my system into overdrive. It did have the desired effect, but they also noticed that for short periods my right arm would take on a more human appearance. Through therapy we succeeded in getting back it's original state. They called it the first step in finding a way to bring back fully transformed chiropterans." He paused a moment. "But ultimately, for most, it was too little too late. Besides, Red Shield researches me concluded that it was primarily emotional reasons that kept me from being able to restore my hand after… after it was injured."

Saya sat silent for a moment, then a small smile crept over her lips. "Haji's hands are so comforting."


	3. Chapter 3

She awoke alone in the same bed alone again, her strength back to normal. Saya dressed quickly in the cloths Julia had left for her and came with light step into the living room. Haji was there, slipping his fingers over the cello strings, one hand pretending to move the bow across the instrument. She understood immediate, he wanted to let her sleep.

"Let's get some breakfast!"

"Lunch." Haji corrected.

Saya waked briskly down the street, even Haji's long legs had to work to keep up with her. The streets were much the same, more stores maybe, with flashier adverts. Car styles had changed a little, but they were as nosy as ever. Cell phone got smaller and everyone seemed to have some gadget or another stuffed in their pockets. But all in all people were the same as always. You understood this when you were immortal, the things people may carry or wear my change, but people are people.

"So what restaurants are good around here?!" She clasp Haji's arm, which seemed to bring him out of the fog he was in.

"Saya…" He sighed.

"Oh right. You don't know… Well were did you get carry out from? That was good." This brought Haji to a complete stop. "are you okay?"

"Yes." He said, an odd look just touching the corners of his mouth, a rather sick look. "I'll take you there." And he walked off without another word until they reached the little restaurant. It was a nice place, if a little run down.

"Haji!" Called the woman behind the counter, a large grin on her face. She was pretty, around Saya's physical age, with a tiny frame, large dark gray eyes and glossy black hair down to her waist. "You never come to eat here, and here you are for the second time in two days! I'm flattered!"

"Good afternoon Suki." Haji's eyes sifted towards Saya as she came up on his right side. "Suki, this is Saya, the food is for her. You should order Saya."

Suki openly stared at Saya, her broad grin slowly disappearing. "Saya." Her voice was now slow. "I've heard so much about you from Haji."

"Suki is the second violinist at the opera. I've been working with her for a few years." Haji explained. "Now what do you want to eat?"

Suki gave a little ironic laugh. "It's nice to finally meet you. Haji talks about nothing but you… when you can get him to talk, but I was starting to think you didn't exist."

Saya looked at her, then at Haji. She couldn't shake the feeling Suki meant to say she had hoped she didn't exist. "I used to live here, but have been away." Saya explained, it wasn't really a lie.

"Are you planning on staying long?" Suki inquired, wiping the counter slowly with a cloth.

"I don't know." She looked again to Haji. "I was going to go to see the concert tonight to watch Haji play, and then I don't know what our plans are."

"Oh. I will see you at the concert then. You know it is a formal affair." Suki's look was unmistakable to a battle worn one like Saya, the look of an opponent. "Everyone gets dressed up and looking lovely. It's so exciting to be a part of since most ladies of our age aren't that sophisticated yet." The blow was low, but painful. Saya twitched a little, suddenly feeling pale in comparison to the lovely and feminine Suki.

"Haji, I think I will have the number 9." Saya turned to the stony man suddenly.

"If that is you wish." He reached in his pocket and handed the money to Suki, who threw it in the draw and took off into the kitchen, slamming a pot onto the stove for the cook and disappearing into the office.

The number nine was the largest of all the dishes, and though he had seen her eat bigger, Haji found himself dumping most of it in the trash as they left. "Are you still hungry."

"No." Saya snapped. "I'm not a pig." She lowered her eyes, sorry she had yelled. But as always, he did not rebuff her. "I guess I'll have to get a dress for tonight."

"Should I call Julia?" He reached for his phone, and she caught the humanity in the action, but shook her head.

"No, I'd rather pick it out…. Would it be okay if I borrowed a little money? I'll find a way to pay you back."

Haji looked surprised at this. "There is no need to repay me. I kept the money for you. I have little need for most of it." He stopped for a moment before reaching into his pocket. "Everything I have is yours." And with that he stuffed an exorbitant amount of money into her hand. She could have bought ten dresses from a major store with it, But he would not take it back. "I'll accompany you."

"NO!" She smiled again. "It's okay, I know how to get back home. I want to surprise you."

"It is my duty as your chevalier to protect you."

"Do I need protecting from anything in this city? You know, besides Suki?" This shut Haji up quickly. "Good. I'll be back in time." And with that she was gone.

Hours latter Saya walked the streets with a satisfied smile and a dress box. She had splurged and gone to one of the most expensive boutiques in the city. She had also made a stop at the salon. This time she did not have all of her hair shorn off, instead she demanded they trim the ends smooth and make her hair soft and glossy. Even then she had only spent a fraction of the wad of cash Haji had given her. She wondered slightly how much money was in this mysterious account of his. The sale of all of the Cinqe Flesh estates must have been in the billions of dollars. If Haji had been paid back pay for 8 decades worth, gotten a large gift of money, a monthly check for the last thirty years, and a salary from the opera, and with no need to pay for groceries…. It boggled her mind. She contemplated the heavy weight of cash in her pocket before slipping into the next jewelry store she found herself came upon.


	4. Chapter 4

Haji gave the cello one final polish and set it gently into its case. A new case, a simple black cello shaped case. He didn't want to use his old one in front of Saya. Most of its life it had been a weapon, carried a weapon. It was a sign of war, and she didn't need to remember that now. He didn't want her to think of him that way right now, swinging his weapon, being a warrior. Gently he lifted the case and went to the door. "Saya, it's time to go."

"Coming." Saya opened the bedroom door and waited a few moments before stepping out. Haji's face was hard to judge, if you didn't know him you'd think he had no emotions. But if you'd live with him as long as Saya had, you'd learn to read the subtle changes of the shape of his eyes, or the curve of his lips. And she was reasonably sure she had gotten the reaction she was after.

Haji's eyes followed her movement across the floor to him. And when she took his arm, he blinked… twice before he reached for the doorknob.

The dress was simple by many standards, but fit perfectly. Black with a little bit of satiny shine in the light. Strapless and empire cut with a lovely breath of fabric swirling down to just above the knee. The length might have been a little short for the opera, but Saya was young and she really didn't care what other people thought. Her black hair hung in shining locks down to her waist. Red heels drew his eyes down to her feet.

Saya ran her hands over his tuxedo collar. "You look so handsome, I haven't seen you in fancy dress since the MET…" She broke off. "Well, I thought I should suit you."

"You do."

The city lights passed over her face in an ecstasy of colors as they speed down the street in the taxi. "We are going to the Red Shield headquarters tomorrow?" Saya twisted the hem of her dress in her hand nervously.

"We leave tomorrow morning." Haji confirmed.

"What will I find there?" She lulled her head against the cold window. Haji didn't answer, and maybe she didn't mean him to. "Haji… am I still a warrior?"

"We are creatures of the moment Saya." Haji paused a moment and then put his hand on her shoulder briefly. "And at this moment you are a sophisticated young lady going to a concert."

That did not bode well, but at that moment they came to a stop in front of the opera house. Ever the gentlemen Haji opened the door for her and lead her inside. He must have pulled some strings because she didn't even have tickets. The building was lovely if a little overdone. It was newly built, but they had tried to capture the golden age of European opera. Men in suits and tails, and women in evening dresses, and they all seemed to have to stop and stare at Haji. He must have been well known in music circles. In turn she got stares and jealous looks from at least every young woman there, and a few older ones as well.

"You'll be sitting here." Haji instructed and helped her into her seat. "I have to go backstage now. Are you sure you're going to be okay?" She noticed he looked around, sizing up who would be seated next to her, a fat old man and a spindly little grandmother.

"I hardly think I'm in danger." Saya laughed. Haji seemed to be unconvinced but gave a little bow and disappeared through a back door.

The music was lovely. She couldn't place what composer it was, maybe modern, but it made little difference. Suki was there, indeed she was second violin, and very good, though she seemed to draw the bow a little more ferociously than any of the other chairs. Haji was, as always, in fine form, he had improved a bit since she last heard him, there must not be much to do except practice while she slept. As she followed the fretting of his fingers, she noticed he hardly missed a note. He even had a two part solo with Suki. A short but slow and soulful tune that ended in a crescendo. And as she watched his fingers move, she noted his eyes were glued to on her as his cello let out more emotion than ever the man could. When the rest of the instruments rejoined, Saya blushed and broke her stare.

As the crowd slowly milled to the door after the performance, Saya fought through to the backstage door. She began to open it but was met with a very big man. Her mind flashed back to that night with Amshel. "I know someone. Haji, the cello player." Saya growled out with more force than necessary. It must have sounded unsettling coming from a small girl like her because the bouncer quickly stepped out of her way.

As if knowing her mind, Haji stood waiting for her just inside the curtained area. "You were great! Why didn't you tell me you'd become such a success!" Saya meet him with a glad smile.

"It's really not important. David simply suggested I find a way to pass the time." Typical Haji. Saya knew how to get to him.

"It makes me happy to see you do things for yourself. I wish you would do them more often."

"If that is your wish." If it was possible, he sounded a little dumbfounded. "Here."

"Haji…." Saya bit her lip, a little embarrassed. Most of the young female stage hands were staring at them. "I'm supposed to bring a rose for you, not the other way around…" But she let him slip the pink bud behind her ear. "Well I don't feel too bad, I did bring you something. She began to reach for her bag, but was interrupted.

Suki made quite a show of coming up, holding her bandaged hand to her mouth. A meek boy in an oversized tux followed after her.

"Poor Suki!" cried the boy to Haji. "She played so passionately a string snapped and cut her finger."

Suki pushed passed the boy and presented the bandaged hand to Haji. "It was during our solo! I bet you didn't notice though, I played straight though, I never missed a beat!" Suki turned to Saya. "Haji and I spent so many sleepless night in his apartment trying to get that solo right I wouldn't dare mess it up."

Saya didn't know why, but suddenly she wanted to punch Suki square in the jaw. It really wasn't fair. She had been gone thirty years. It had once been her one wish that Haji make some friends to see him though the long periods of being alone. She wanted him to be happy while she slept. She wanted him to have memories, to have experiences, opinions, and a life other than her. But she had imagined it more with someone like Kia. Why did it matter so?

"Suki, how embarrassing. I was just about to give Haji a gift, and I forgot to bring flowers for you." Saya slid the box from her evening bag and handed it to Haji, and for once she did not have to give him permission to open it.

Suki pulled Haji's shoulder down with her supposedly hurt hand to peer into the box. "What a lovely watch. It looks very pricy. You should feel honored, Haji, that a college age girl like Saya saved so hard to buy you such a trinket. Oh, but what a shame. The hands have stopped. It's broken."

Her thinly veiled insults did not bother Saya this time. Suki was not privileged to see Haji's face, but she was. It had been decades since she had seen that tilt of his lips. Riku had seen him smile in Paris, but she had been to slow to turn and catch it. Now she saw what Riku must have seen. It lasted only a moment and probably would not be seen for another decade.

Miffed that she was not responded to, Suki gripped onto the arm of the boy she towed around and went on to bewail her finger to whoever else would listen.

"It's not broken." Saya insisted. "It's stuck on the time that you first became my Chevalier. Since then, time doesn't really matter to us."

"I know." Haji placed a hand to brush away the hair from her face. "Thank you."

Saya took the arm that was offered her and they began to walk out. She paused one last moment to look back at Suki. "I can see why you like her. She reminds me a little of me in the beginning."


	5. Chapter 5

"The car is here Saya… Saya." Haji's voice broke through her thoughts. She peeled here eyes away from the window.

"I want to go more than anything. I want to see Kai again. I want to meet my nieces. I want to see David, and Julia, and their baby. And yet I'm too terrified to move from this spot. Here, everything is perfect, right now everything is perfect." She ran her hands across the edge of the spotless glass table. "Perfect… Right here, right now. I don't know anything. Kia is still just like he is in my memory, and the girls are still perfect and innocent. As far as I know everything there is perfect too, I have no reason to believe it's not. If I go, I'll find out."

Haji stared down at her for a long time. "We had our dream. Didn't we?"

Saya waited until he left the room, bags in hand, before she looked up. "Our dream? Yes Haji, for one night we did. For one night I was a sophisticated young lady going to the opera, and you were my dashing date."

Saya made it down to the car just as Haji closed the phone. "The plans are set."

"What plans?" Saya reached for the phone but Haji stuck it in his pocket.

"There will be a small meeting as soon as we arrive. Just to catch you up on everything."

"I will be told everything this time?" Saya's old voice returned suddenly, deep and serious, a woman's voice.

"Red Shield realized the mistake they made last time by keeping you in the dark so long."

They rode in silence for a long time. The city turned into suburbs' and finally into country side. The little car speed down a rode that danced around the coast line. Saya eyed the old iron side cello case that sat in the front seat, having not fit in the trunk. Maybe things had not changed as much as she thought they had.

Saya ran through the words once again in her mind. She'd been practicing them all night. Finally she turned to her chevalier. "Haji, I've been meaning to tell you…"

"Here we are, Red Manor." Boomed a slightly accented voice. The driver came to a quick stop outside a set of massive ornate iron gates. He turned, and for a moment Saya saw the spitting image of Lewis, but he couldn't possibly be so young, or so thin. Father to son, that's how Red Shield worked. "Or was we call it the Freaking Big House."

A few security procedures later they found themselves coasting easily up the drive of a large ivy covered mid-century castle. It seemed so out of place, here by the Japanese sea side. No doubt built by someone who fancied a knight from the old romances that had poured into Japan with all the other western influences.

Breathless, Saya slowly moved from the car, the slam of the door barely registering as the car drove away, leaving the two dwarfed in front of the manor.

"I'll take your bags to your usual room Sir." Called the small, ungainly boy, who came running from the front door. He came to a full stop when he caught sight of Saya. "And uh… Miss Saya. We have your room ready."

"Mark," called a voice from the door. The source came slowly into the sunlight, and then took off towards them in a slow pace. "Take Mr. Haji's bags to Saya's room. Haji is Miss Saya's protector, it's appropriate." Saya stared at the man who bore such a strong resemblance to her father. Tears welled.

"Er, Haji with Saya… yes Mr. Kai." And with that the boy named Mark took the bag out of Saya's limp hand, mounted Haji's case on his back and waddled off.

"Kia…" Saya whimpered.

"You look beautiful Saya." Kia made the last few steps and brushed his lips against her forehead. "I like the long hair."

"That's how you greet me after thirty years!?" Saya wailed, tears falling like pearls from her eyes.

Kia gave a begrudging grin and scratched his head. "Yeah, I've never been very good at this sort of thing."

Saya stared at him for a long time, his hair was a dark shade of gray with spontaneous shot of silver, and a little grey mustache covered his to lip. He had put on a little weight, but still looked like a guy you wouldn't want to pick a fight with. Finally Kai grew restless under her stare and made a gesture, "It's just that… you haven't' changed a bit."

Kai's turned his face suddenly, and she was worried she'd upset him. But when he turned back there was that same old grin, and his eyes were only a little red and glistening. The two embraced for what might have been an eternity, but nothing compared to what they had missed for 3 decades.

"Auntie Saya!!" Came another voice from the doorway. What burst forth nearly brought Saya to her knees, and it would have if Haji had not been there to clasp his arm around her waist.

A girl with bobbed sleek black hair that glowed with a hallo in the harsh sun, her pale skin brilliant. It wasn't until the girl was upon her, wrapped tightly around her waist, that she could see into the girls eyes. Red like the deepest Ruby. Her eyes, and the smile… the smile of… Saya felt overcome again.

"Uncle Haji! Hold her tight! She looks like she'll faint!" The girl cried. "Haven't you been taking good care of Auntie?! She looks so pale."

Saya reached out and stroked her cheek. "I'm fine… Sophia." As the Red eyed one had been called. "Don't scold… Uncle Haji."

"Sophi!! Sophi!!" another voice from the doorway. Saya didn't think she could take anymore. And now here came David…. No not David, couldn't be. David would be well into this 70's by now, and this boy was 25 if anything. Yet the yellow gold hair, and the blue eyes, and the cut of the jaw. "Sophi, they made me promise to keep you inside until later when you would be properly introduced to Miss Saya… Oh well I see it is too late."

"The last time we had meet I had my hand on your mother's stomach trying to feel you kick just once." Saya extended her hand, and he took it a little shyly. "What did David and Julia name you?"

"Robert… Miss Saya."

Haji stepped between the two. "Robert, take Sophia into the house and help her with the dinner. Miss Saya has a meeting with your father." The boy obediently pulled his ward away on his arm.

"Haji… That boy." Saya started. But her chevalier was already heading inward with long strides. "Haji…" Saya whispered to herself.

The first few rooms of the castle were as to be expected, grand and antique. But just under the two grand staircases, doors lead into a brightly lit research facility of the most modern kind. For a change, Saya found herself following behind Haji, marveling at the masses of scientist, clicking away at their computers, or at strange machines mixing curious substances.

Haji stopped short at the door and motioned for her to enter, his eyes drawn to the floor. Saya pushed back her fear, and entered the door briskly, like a general into a war room. Conversation inside stopped. "Hello everyone." Saya tried to hold her composure. But the faces that meet her were unbearable. David a bit thinner, but as erect as ever. His once blond hair was completely white, yet his eyes remained as clear blue as when she first looked into them. Face wrinkled with time, there was no mistaking him, standing there with the look of a duty bound soldier. It didn't last though, a smile broke through, something he must have learned as a father. Julia was next to greet her. As expected she was one of those older women who still looked oddly like the most attractive women in the room. It was the way she carried herself, and the care she took in her appearance. Joel's face was present too; he was only just now hitting his golden years. Though still confined to a wheelchair, he seemed no different than when they first meet. People are people in the end, no matter how old.

In a matter of seconds it felt like she had never been away, as if it had only been yesterday when they last spoke. After some time Saya finally broke the happy mood. "I want to know everything that has been happening. I trust you have prepared this information for me?"

Joel nodded with a small smile. "Of course. I have set up this meeting to answer your questions. I wasn't sure where to begin. And I'm sure Haji has answered many of your questions since he demanded a day to be alone with you." Joel turned to Kai. "Yes Kia, I am sorry but Saya actually woke a few days ago. Haji requested some time before her waking was made known."

Saya watched the look on Kai's face shift from anger to good hearted exasperation. "That guy. He's never forgiven me for punching him. But… He won in the end."

Saya filed that mysterious statement away for later discussion. "He answered some questions, but was hopelessly vague on others. I need to know, are there still chiropterans in this world?"

Joel slid some reports her way. "As you remember, after the incident at the MET, large clean up crews were sent to exterminate many of the chiropterans that had been created. It took a few month of exhaustive work, but most of the major cases were dealt with. The one lasting problem with the MET event is that the existence of chiropterans was made public. News casts started dubbing it 'spontaneous animalization'… but most people referred to the creatures as vampires. There was a little bit of public panic, but surprisingly most people accepted it as just another case of a new and deadly disease. It was comparable to the Aids scare, or Sars, or Bird Flu. Everyone panicked, there were talks of religious punishment, and the end of world, then everyone got some foolish product to protect them, and soon everyone just learned to live in a world with 'vampires.' There is still a great deal of fear out there, and a lot of propaganda and misinformation. However… we have no plans on telling the public what Chiropterans really are, or what all has happened."

Joel broke off and David cleared his throat. "After that, there were spontaneous reports of infection, but around 10 years ago it had all but vanished." David paused and drew breath. "However, within the few years reports have jumped dramatically. It is not so nearly out of control as it was when you woke the first time. But after years of no reports, the sudden jump is alarming. The rise coincided with… the event."

"The event?" Saya repeated and accepted the attaché David handed her, labeled 'Isabella.' "… My niece… Isabella…" Saya closed her eyes tight. "I only saw one of my nieces." She opened her eyes again and stared David down. "And David… Your son… We agreed that the girls would never create Chivalries. They should have never damned your son to a life such as I damned Haji to! Not to mention that with a new chevalier, there is a chance for one queen to become pregnant."

David looked away. "It's not what you think. The girls and Robert were so close in age. We found it harmless to let them play… they grew up together here in this house. But as the years went on, and they matured, we noticed Robert was closer to Sophia than to Isabella. I discourage their romance, but..." David shifted is eyes to where his wife sat, she avoided the look. "It was Julia who put the idea in their heads. She told them so many stories about 'auntie Saya' and 'uncle Haji' that it soon become something like a fairytale. They were young, idealistic, and the relationship of a chevalier and a queen was horribly romantic. A young queen and her knight, together forever." David closed her eyes tightly. "And so they did it one night without telling anyone."

Joel took David's momentary lapse to break in. "As you can imagine we were all upset. We took measures to prevent it from happening again. Isabella was forbidden to do such a thing, and her dealings with the opposite sex were strictly monitored. But her jealousy of her sister grew. We tried to provide her with as many female friends as possible, but… One night a young male research student was sent to bring her treatment by accident. He was attacked by the girl… Isabella attempted to make him her chevalier by force but… she was unsure how to do it. He bleed to death. He was found the next morning, his key cards and Isabella were gone."

Julia spoke, her head bent low to the table. "That was three years ago. We have not been able to locate her since."

David spoke again. "It seems only logical that most of the sudden appearance of chiropterans originate from her. However… these chiropterans are not like what we have dealt with before." He referred Saya to the photo of the lovely manicured lawn of the castle, strune with the bodies of handsome young men. "These were what we encountered. They were not the mindless mutated monsters we had experienced before. They were chevaliers. The specimens were stronger then normal chiropterans, intelligent, and able to shift between their human and chevalier form. However, they did not prove to be as strong or resilient as other chevaliers we have on record. It was not too difficult to kill them. Not with our new weapons at least."

"… New weapons." Saya flipped though the photos, feeling ill.

"As you slept, Julia decoded the D-base, and many of the secrets of Chiropterans DNA were revealed. We now have an antidote."

Saya looked up suddenly. "You can fix it."

David grimaced and avoided Saya's eyes. Julia gave a gentle smile and covered Saya's hand with her own. "It's not really a cure. We found that if the antidote is administered to an infected victim before that victim has experienced the first signs of transformation, they will never develop symptoms. The D-base remains in them, but is dormant. Yet, if the victim has already transformed, the base has entwined in their DNA, and the antidote proves fatal. This applies to those who have lived a long time with the D-base, such as Chevaliers, or those whose DNA originated the D-base, such as queens. It's not a perfect weapon, but it kills chiropterans off fast, and it _can_ cure the infected if caught quickly enough."

Saya nodded. "I understand. You have done amazing work, Julia." Turning to Joel, "What you were saying about the appearance of the new chiropterans that attacked here… You are saying that Isabella is making Chevaliers."

"No." Joel sighed. "That is the most mysterious part of it all. After the creatures were examined, it was discovered that they came from your blood line, Saya."

Saya sucked in breath when she meant to exhaled. After recovering, "I don't understand."

"Frankly, neither do we. You were dead asleep when these creatures appeared, you were under the care of Haji, who is incontrovertible."

"Saya." David stood. "It is unnecessary for you to fight. Our research has come a long way. We now understand the D-base, and have made an antidote for it. Our men can easily take care of any creatures that arise. What we need from you is to locate Isabel. Only you can sense her presents."

"I understand. Thank you David." Saya walked from the room in a bit of daze, stopping suddenly when she saw the cold statuesque form of Haji standing by the doorway. Breaking her gaze at him, she marched past, but he followed.

Saya closed the door behind Haji as they entered their suite. "Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice was cold and hard again.

"I wanted you to have a day of rest when you woke up." Haji answered simply, as always.

"And while I had my nice little relaxing day, what of Isabella! We had no time to waste!" Saya spun on her heels at him.

"She has been gone three years. I didn't think a day would make a difference."

"How do you know!" Saya slammed her bag onto the bed and began to unpack furiously. "That is not up to you! You never tell me anything, and it always ends in disaster! What's wrong with you Haji!?"

"It's my duty to protect you." Haji's voice wavered every so slightly.

"What, from myself!? Is that what you mean?!" Saya stopped to seethe for moment. Her mood turned from burning to dark. "If you had just done as I said thirty years ago… If you had just let me end everything when I had the chance, none of this would be happening now." Saya approached him with heavy thudding steps. "Why didn't you kill me Haji?"

Haji looked down at her, the inhuman look of his face almost sent her off the edge. "I wasn't strong enough."

"Yes, you are. The strongest one of us all!" Saya refuted him, eyes blazing. "You killed Amshel, you tore the armor off of James! You fought for a hundred years." Saya's voice tuned slightly soft. "And I would not have fought you. I wanted it, I was ready… I would have given you my sword, I would have unsheathed it for you, I would have bowed my neck to you." She reached for him. "It would have been easy."

"…easy." Haji repeated her, and she backed away in surprise. His voice was as she'd never heard it before. "No. Not easy. I knew I could not do it… I knew I could not do it when I first made the promise." Haji turned to face the window. "I was relived when you created a new Chevalier. It was my intention to leave you in the hands of Riku, I was going to disappear to avoid my horrible task. But then Riku died… I couldn't leave you with no one. The ending battle came so quickly, I didn't know what to do. But there was one thing I could never do, I could never do what you wanted of me. Forgive me."

"Haji…" Saya flared again and ran at him, wailing her fists against his back. "You made it seem like everything was so perfect!" Saya yelled, fists pummeling him. Haji didn't even sway. "You made me believe that it was all over, that love would conquer all! And when I woke, you let me live this little fantasy of our new prefect, normal life! The things I felt..."

Haji didn't respond.

Saya turned away, wiping here eyes dry before he could see she had been crying. "I was so childish. Well it's not a perfect normal life, Haji, and it never will be. This is my existence, fighting. And until the day the war is truly over, I can't indulge myself in the fantasy of love." The words were viscously designed to cut deep, and she immediacy regretted them. "Haji…"

Just then there was a knock at the door, and without a second one it came flying open. "Just me!" Julia's bright smile sunk, the room was nearly permeated with the black fog that hung around the two. "I'm sorry to disturb… I just needed to see Saya for a few tests."

Saya hung her head and nodded slowly. "I'll come now." When the door closed again, with a soft sound, Saya turned to take back her words. Haji was no where to be seen, the curtains fluttered slightly.


	6. Chapter 6

Light from a small window flooded down to illuminate the clean white sheets and blinding Saya in the eyes. She groaned and set her arm over her eyes. So many scientists and nurses had been in to poke and prod her, and they all asked the same question.

"Are you feeling okay?" Saya pushed back her anger at the question. It was Julia this time, which made it a little better.

"I'm… fine." Saya braved a smile and swallowed away the knot in her throat.

"All of the tests are coming back well. You are fully recovered from sleep. You have all your memories?" Julia marked a few things off her clip board.

"It's funny. I never lost them. I woke fully conscious."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Julia said with a hum. Saya cracked her arm enough to give her a questioning look, but did not get a response. "Well, everything looks just fine. You're physically a bit weak, but we have you on a transfusion… It would be helpful if you fed from Haji's blood a little more often. His blood contains the necessary mix of D-base. It's more restorative to your system than the blood we get from donors here." She saw the girl wince under her arm. "That's it. Your exam is done." Saya nearly flew off the bed. "Before you leave, tell me, did you like the clothes I left for you?"

Saya paused at the door. "Yes… Thank you Julia, they were lovely."

"I thought…" She never got to finish her though.

"Julia… I heard there was going to be a dinner. When is that happening? I'm really very hungry."

The meal was lovely, everyone was there, Kai, Sophia, Robert, David, Julia, and Joel. Memories were exchanged, and more holes in information were fixed. Lewis was doing well; he was head of another department responsible for doing random checks on facilities dealing with the D-base and chiropteran research. He was currently in Siberia, but had phoned with a promise to drop by soon.

LuLu had lived to a ripe old age for a Shift, but sadly, despite the treatments the thorn had taken her not 5 years ago. Saya was consoled by the thought that she had lead a full life, much more than she had ever expected to. Joel had never had any children, and it was expected that the operation of Red Shield would fall upon David's son, Robert, one day. The plan had been made before Robert had become a chevalier, but they saw little reason why that should be a problem.

Robert himself was very much more like his mother than his father. He was a strong boy, but a little love sick. And with the thick mop of blond hair, and dashing blue eyes, he played to role of Knight perfectly.

Kai had had a few short term relationships, but it was difficult since any woman he wanted to be seriously involved with had to either be a member of Red Shield, or at least intimately knowledgeable in the chiropteran situation. In the end, he devoted his life to the girls.

Saya was pleased with the outcome, at least with Sophia. She was a sweet girl, if a bit naive and childish. Sweetly spoiled and pretty to boot. It's no wonder it seemed she got everything she asked for from father Kai and Robert. Yet, her intentions were good, and there was little worry that she posed a threat to humanity. It had quickly become apparent, however, she had been largely kept in the dark about most of her past. She knew that she was a "vampire," as she put it, but knew little to nothing about the previous war. For her, vampire, queens, and chevaliers were just another species, living among humans, special, but of little concern. She had also never been taught to handle a weapon, or to fight. Even Robert had been given only a rudimentary lesson in self defense. She didn't know if she agreed with that decision, but understood the reasons behind it.

"Auntie.." Sophia's voice broke into Saya's deep thoughts. "Where is uncle?"

"Uncle…" Saya puzzled for a moment and then remembered. "Oh…" It had not missed her attention that Haji was absent, but she did not want to bring it up. Brining up the fight, and the instability between them, was the last thing she wanted shaking the hopes of the organization. "I'm sure he's around."

Julia took pity on her and took Sophia's attention. "Haji doesn't eat, remember sweetie. There was really no reason for him to take time out of his busy day to come down and sit at the table."

"But Robert always joins us at the table!" the young woman pouted. "You know what I think…" Thankfully or not Sophia was unable to finish her thought over the blaring alarm system that was tripped at that moment.

"What's that!?" Saya jumped to her feet.

"There has been a breach!" David hauled himself from his chair as quickly as he could, patting his coat for his weapon. Luckily just then the trained reinforces marched in at a quick pace, arms at the ready.

"Sir!" One of them barked at Joel. "Enemy Chevaliers have just scaled the gate and are storming the doors!"

"How many of them?" growled David.

"Only two."

"Two…" David shook his head. "Why did they even bother? Alright. Robert, take Sophia to the safe room and stay there." He turned back to the armed men. "Tell the gun men to hold their fire on the enemy. Take Saya with you, show her our new enemy. Saya, you will fight them, see what you think." Saya nodded as she tied up her hair with the band Julia offered her. And with that she was off through the halls.

The sound was unbearable, splintering wood and fierce growls. Saya and the armed men spilled into the foyer just as the door gave way. A rapid click of holsters sounded.

"Stand down!" one of the officers bellowed. "It is the duty of Saya to finish them off!"

Eyes burning softly in the dim light, Saya looked over her opponent. True, they were not the chiropterans she had once fought. Yet, they were not true chevaliers either. Chevaliers, monsters though they were, often retained some elegance in design. These however, seemed more like humans only half transformed. Their faces still recognizable even with horns and tentacles jutting at odd angles from their head, Wings extending from their elongated flesh covered arms, muscles budging at irregular points from their damaged skin.

"You poor creatures. I'm going to put you out of your misery." Saya held her hand out instinctively for Haji to place the sword in it. But there was no cold satisfaction of the metal on her palm. She turned. "Haji! Sword!" There where only the SWAT armored men of Red Shield staring back at her.

With a sadistic, half human grin one of the enemy chevaliers fell upon her. Saya had lost some of her speed in her long respite, and only just got out of the way in time. She hit the floor hard, looking up quick enough to see the demon turn towards her again. "I need a weapon!"

It was Kai who answered her call, throwing down her sword from the top of the staircase. She caught it in a slick motion. Its sheath made a crisp click, then slid smoothly from the blade. It shone as brightly as ever, aching for blood. She was quick to sate its hunger, slicing her palm in the same spot she had so many years ago and letting the blood drip poetically down the length of it.

It was a quick flick of the wrist, like sending a hot knife through butter. Saya lodged the weapon deep in her opponents chest.

The monster reared back and… laughed. Saya felt her skin jump. "My own blood line." She whispered. With a growl Saya wrenched the blade out of the creature, sending him momentarily off balance.

"The head!" Kia voice drifted down the stairs.

Her arm flung quick through the air. Their was a momentary pause before the monstrous head slowly slid off the neck and made a sickening 'thud' on the floor.

Saya stared down at the dispatched body, no longer ugly, no longer foreign, it was now the boy of a handsome boy, not even 18 years old. Memories flooded her, pushing her to the floor. She hardly felt the second chevaliers claw rip it's way through her shoulder, causing her sword to go flying.

"Fire!"

A breath of bullets rang through the air and once again Saya found herself on the floor, the body of a dying young man hugging her shoulders. He cried out, twisting in pain against her. She fought him off and scurried off to watch the last of it from the first stair. It was horrible, like watching a man boil from the inside out, and then he was still, everything was still.

Saya jumped when she saw the polished boots of one of the shooters step in front of her, blocking her view of the blood drenched scene. The soldier removed her helmet, and she was shocked to see the face of a girl who only looked a little older than she was. "Are you okay Ma'am?"

"What was that!" Saya chocked.

"The antidote. It explodes DNA sequences inside the body of fully infected subjects."

"You could have killed me!!" Saya was at her feet in a flash.

"We are very good shots Ma'am." And with that the young girl saluted and marched away.

She had to lean against the banister for a moment. The clean up crew was already moving in.

"So what do you think of it?" Kai put his hand on her shoulder, and she jumped a little.

"It's like nothing I've ever seen before. They are chevaliers.. but they are hardly strong. If I wasn't caught off guard by that boy turning back into a human, I could have easily dispatched them both."

Kai nodded. "Don't waste time spilling your blood next time. It's useless."

"They're mine. Somehow those things were made from me. Those poor pitiful creatures… But they show no loyalty, not like…" She stopped suddenly. "Did Haji send you with my sword?"

Kai looked a bit taken aback. "No. When you took off to fight, I made sure Sophia was okay and then I went to watch the fight. I saw that Haji wasn't there so I went to find him… Your room was empty, but the cello case was there, so I took the sword and…" He trailed off, Saya was already halfway up the stairs headed to her room.

The cello case lay opened on the bed, but everything else was as she left it. "Has anyone reported seeing him?"

"No, I haven't heard anything from him in hours. But I didn't think that was too unusual. He just always shows up when we need him." Kia shrugged.

"He didn't." Saya growled.

"Is it because you had that fight?" Kia sighed, closing the case and setting it neatly against the wall. Saya spun around, how did he know?! "Nah, I don't think it's that. I mean he would let a little think like that prevent him from coming to battle." Kia noticed she had stopped dead in front of the dresser. "What? What is it?" Kia slowly lifted the object of Saya's attention from its resting place.

A watch with hands spinning happily across its face.

"I don't understand." He handed her the trinket.

"He said he was planning on leaving before…" She watched the second hand tick.

The room was quiet, and smelled too much like dry flowers. Through cloudy eyes he tried to understand where he was. The castle? No… it was different. This place… dripping with pink frills, damask, satin pillows with sappy fringe. Roses dotted every ornately carved table. It reminded him a lot like a romance novel might have exploded all over the walls.

Haji reached up to press his hand against the Plexiglas. How fitting, a Plexiglas coffin set up on red velvet covered saw horses. He pulled back his fist and sent it flying into the side of his clear prison, but was meet with hard resistance, that shattered his knuckles, and buckled his wrist.

"Careful." The voice startled him. Haji blinked several times until the familiar figure came into focus.

"Nathan…" Haji moaned.

"Morning sleepy head." Nathan lovingly stroked the edges of the coffin. "Shatter proof, even for you, don't try it again."

"What did you do to me?" The Chevalier growled at the other, swallowing hard the urge to get sick. He had not felt like this since he was human.

"Just a little shot of antidote." Nathan shifted his blonde curls and pointed to a table of syringes.

"You are going to kill me?"

"Oh Haji, as emotionless as ever. You can do better! Plead for me! Beg me!" Nathan pouted with Haji's response, the cold shoulder. "No, I'm not going to kill you." He sighed, plopping down in a near by chair. "Such a small dose can't kill old chevalier like ourselves, but it does take us down for a bit. You look a little green. What will your date think?"

"Date…" Haji repeated flatly.

Just then the door burst open and Nathan jumped to his feet. "Did you bring him!?!" A girl's voice came like bells into the room. Haji tried to crane is head around to catch a glimpse to her. But it was unnecessary. With a thud she landed onto of the glass, her smile beaming down on him.

"Oh here you are! I've been waiting for you?!" Her smiled faded slightly. "Aren't you going to say hello?" Suki pouted her lower lip.


	7. Chapter 7

"There were signs of a struggle here." David pointed to the spot on the map of the grounds.

"It could have just been another chiropteran we didn't encounter." Saya's voice was hard and flat as she stared at the watch ticking away on the table. Mocking her.

"Unlikely." David shook her head. "No one reported engaging an opponent there, and the entire team has been accounted for. Except Haji."

Saya thought it over again. She was so unsure of what to think. She could believe Haji had left on his own, but that he was alive and well, or she could believe that he was taken away against his will and was in danger. Which was better? Saya grimaced, she was so selfish. "Do you think someone took Haji? Why? To weaken our defenses while they broke in?"

"Unlikely." David repeated. "There were only two enemy chevaliers at the door. Most likely they were there as a distraction to keep us busy. It seems obvious that Haji was the main objective."

Saya sighed and reached for the watch, sticking it in her pocket. "Do we know the motive yet?"

"Information has been spotty, but we have gotten reports of a rouge organization doing chiropteran research." David handed it over to Joel.

"We didn't mention it, because it's been unconfirmed. The only solid evidence for it is the existence of the new chevaliers themselves. As mentioned before, these are chevaliers created from your blood. They are most likely artificially produced using advanced technology. Still, the process must be imperfect since they are no where near the level of so called 'natural' chevaliers." Joel frowned. "It seems only logical that this rouge organization is the one currently in possession of Isabella. They are most likely using her to produce large quantities of D-base."

Saya's face turned dark. "Do not hold any more information from me."

"We did not hold back any information Saya." Kia interrupted. "This is only a well educated guess. You yourself probably put as much together from the first meeting."

"Still…" But she switched gears. "So what would this rouge organization want with Haji, a specimen to make more perfect creatures from?"

David's' head bobbed from side to side. "That is one possibility. There is one more." He paused, unsure how to proceed. David had lost some of his directness to the years. "It is possible he has been taken to produce another set of twins."

Saya's heart jumped to her throat. "That's impossible. Diva is dead."

"Haji is not only useful to Diva in…. in that way." Julia gripped Saya's hand under the table, far from the sight of the men. "It is possible for Isabella to be impregnated by him as well." She squeezed down hard, reminding Saya they were in an important business meeting.

"I don't understand. The way it was explained, only the chivalries of a queen's sister would do." Saya shook her head.

"We thought that to be true, because be only thing we had to go on was the successful breeding of your sister and… your chevalier." David found himself cushioning his speech again. The confusion still remained on the girl's face. "Julia, can you present your findings for Saya."

"Yes sir." Julia turned to the younger woman. "If you don't mind I'll do it in the lab, Saya looks a little piqued. She probably needs a treatment after her first big fight."

Once safely locked out of the sight of the men, Julia helped Saya to a bed and stroked the hair out of her face. It was funny, once Julia had been like a big sister to Saya. The girl looked up to her, envied her adult body, and her beauty. Now she was like a kindly aunt.

"Are you feeling all right?" Julia broke open an IV kit.

"I'm just still a little tired. I wasn't prepared to fight." Saya held out her arm, a pro.

Once the drip was set, and Saya was comfortably propped on pillows, she started. "It's a little complex, I'll try to explain it the best I can. I know you are a smart girl.

Julia paused a long time. "In my investigation of the twins, and of the D-base, I found something interesting. In humans, each sex carries half of the genetic information needed to produce a baby. The female's egg has half of the genome, and the male's sperm hold the other half. Once these two meet they create a whole genome which then multiplies many billions of times, becoming a fetus."

"I did have high school health class." Saya sighed.

Julia let out a little laugh, but ended it quickly. "Sorry. For humans, there aren't many things that will stop a fetus from forming once an egg and sperm merge. Any egg and any sperm will do. This is not so with Chiropterans. In order for one queen to keep the population going, she gives birth to twins. In order for the sisters to produce two separate blood lines capable of breeding with each other without inbreeding, each of their D-bases are slightly different. Each girl contains half of a specific DNA sequence. One half of the sequence will cause one of the twin's eyes to fosferess red, and the other half of the sequence causes a blue fosferensence. Because of this they are called red sequence, and blue sequence. We then refer to the twins as either a Red Queen, or Blue Queen." Julia paused.

"So I have red sequence, and Diva had blue." Saya mused.

"Yes. And Sophia is Red sequence as well, and Isabella is blue." Julia stood to adjust the line of the IV. "When you create Chevaliers, you pass on your D-bases, including the half sequence. Amshel discovered for himself that breeding a queen with her own chevaliers does not produce a pregnancy, but he didn't know why. When Diva mated with her Chevaliers she received sperm containing the blue sequence she already had. Her body was unable to produce twins with only half of the genetic information, so her body refused pregnancy at all. When she mated with Riku, who gave her the second half of the sequence, she was then able to complete the genome and conceive twins. One twin receiving her blue sequence, and one taking Riku's red one."

Saya's balled her fists, it was her fault after all. Cold hard science proved it. If she had never given Riku the red sequence he would not have been a target. And Haji… it was her fault he was the way he was as well. He always claimed he didn't regret it, she wondered if his opinion has changed now. "Haji is my Chevalier. He has red sequence… and Isabella is blue."

"Since the forming of Red Shield only three chevaliers have existed with red sequence. Haji, Riku, and Robert. Either Haji or Robert could be successfully mated with Isabella." Julia confirmed.

"So why Haji?"

With a sigh, Julia sat on the bed. "After Robert chose Sophia, there was a rift between he and Isabella. Not to mention they were closely monitored when together to ensure they did not mate. It's little wonder why she did not want him."

"Isabella could not have done this on her own." Saya shook her head.

"No. There must be a large network of people behind her."

"Or controlling her." Saya corrected. Julia nodded. "And those strange chevalier with my blood?"

"If all this is correct, and I'm not sure it is, the organization is trying to create chevaliers with D-base and artificial red sequence to mate with Isabella. The project must have been unsuccessful if they took Haji to do the job." Julia caught the roughness of the statement only after she said it. To make up for it she reached in Saya's pocket and took out the watch, placing it around the girl's slim wrist.

It was a château somewhere in the French countryside, Haji had figured that much out from the time looking out the windows from his glass coffin. But his musing was cut short as Nathan plunged another needle into this arm.

He woke up sometime later, could have been an hour, could have been a day. Haji tried to stay sill, keep his face like stone, he had had enough practice. He was aware that Nathan's keen eyes were on him, and he didn't want to give away signs as to how sick he was. Besides, he currently found himself unrestrained on a bed. The horridly frilly pillows threatening to consume his body.

"How are you feeling?" Rang Nathan's annoyingly high voice. He was meet with a cold roll of the eyes from Haji. "Oh so cold hearted!" Nathan pouted. "I've never understood you Haji. Whose heart do you hope to gain with that robot demeanor."

Saya's Chevalier stared up at the ceiling, unwilling to give an inch.

"Eh." Nathan sighed and began to play with the lace of the bedspread. "I just hope you'll break the ice a little when you take Isabella on a date tonight."

"What you want, it won't happen." Haji said simply. In his dreary state, his body violently fighting off the effect of the antidote, he had at least worked a few things out in his head.

"Oh, but I think it will. After all, Isabella is such a charming girl! How could you not fall for a girl like that!?" His flitting attitude suddenly turned as he leaned down to whisper in Haji's ear. "Besides how do you think we infiltrated Red Shield so easily and plucked you out of the garden? We have our own operatives in that organization. And right now they have free access to your precious queen." Nathan twisted around to avoid the other man's weak attempt at an attack. He plucked a needle from a near by table. "No no no. Hum, I wonder… what would happen if Saya found herself shot full of this?" He turned on Haji, a mocking smirk on his painted lips. "Do you think she'd explode, paint the walls a lovely shade of red?"

"I am going to be the one to kill you." Haji settled back down, eyes rolling back toward the ceiling.

"Maybe, but not before I make sure another set of twins come into this world. Now, Haji, if you don't want to find out what Saya would do with a massive dose of antidote, you will cooperate fully. Yes? Good." He folded the needle set back into its case and tucked it safely under his arm. "You may get up. The bathroom is through that door. You'll find everything you need, and a handsome new suit. Be ready in a few hours. You'll have dinner with Isabella followed by a nice, supervised walk around the grounds. Pick her some roses, she likes red ones." And with that Haji found himself alone.

Saya turned the sword over and over in her hand before replacing into the cello case. Her fingers slide down, caressing the smooth wood of instrument there. It felt cold and hallow without its player. "Maybe those were my last words to him."

"I doubt it." Saya spun around to see David at the door. She had expected Kia, or maybe even Julia, but not David.

"After Diva mated with Riku, she killed him easily." Saya turned away and closed the case with a soft click.

"Riku was untrained, and his strength had not developed yet… Haji isn't so easily killed. You have to remember the MET."

Saya gave a little laugh, despite the situation. "Yeah. What could anyone do to Haji to…" She didn't want to know the answer.

"Besides, it is unlikely they would even try to kill him. If Julia is correct, they will keep him alive for future breeding. He is a full Chevalier with red sequence, and is valuable if they plan on breeding more blue queens."

"I won't let them do that him! I won't let that be his life!" Fists balled, Saya spun around. "Haji rescued me uncountable times, I will do the same for him!"

"Red Shield is behind you, as always." David clamped his mouth shut suddenly as the door swung open.

"Yes! We will rescue Uncle!" Sophia ran at Saya, clinging to her. "I'll help!"

Saya looked to David, who only shrugged. "Sophia," She began, placing her arms around the girl. "It's not your duty. You have to stay here. I'll bring Haji home."

Tears were spilling down the girls cheeks. "Before you came, Uncle Haji came every weekend. He brought us sweets from the big stores in the city, things we can't get out here! Or things that David won't order for us! Then he would take Robert out for training. But before he left, he would take me for a walk around the garden, and let me eat as much chocolate as I wanted." She looked up into Saya's startled eyes with a sudden look of clarity. "Kia is my father, but Haji is my family too. I love him, and I won't let anyone hurt him. Even if the person hurting him is my sister… If my sister has done such a thing… if she wants to hurt people, I'll stop her."

David placed his hand on Saya's shoulder. "Saya, give the girl your sword."

"No." Saya detached the girl suddenly and put her hand forcefully on the case.

"Saya, like it or not, Sophia is a queen. She is strong. Maybe it is time she become what she is meant to be." David's eyes narrowed, his old self returning.

"Just because I fought does not make it the destiny of our kind! Our kind can live in peace, we can live among humans. We can be as normal and happy as any others! It only takes one generation to be raised the right way, to be shown another path. We are not creatures of war, I can feel it when I look at Isabella." She stroked the girl's cheek. "I'll be the last warrior queen."


	8. Chapter 8

Haji eyed the girl from across the dinner table. She looked up, blinked, and then a bright smile broke over her pretty face. Haji lowered his eyes back to his plate. They were on desert course by now, cherry pastries covered with little chocolate hearts and a fine dusting of powdered sugar. Champaign bubbled in fluted glasses near by. So far they had made it though all three courses without speaking.

"Please eat this dish, Haji!" The girl whined. "You haven't eaten anything, and these sweets are my favorite. I asked the cook to make them for us special!"

"I don't eat, Isabella." Haji's monotone voice was edged with annoyance. "Please, change back from that form." Haji eyed the girl he had once known as Suki.

"Why." She giggled suddenly, so innocent. "Does it remind you of how I fooled you? I was pretty good huh? You didn't even recognize me!" But she smiled, and slowly the appearance of Suki lessened, and he found himself looking at the girl he had once played uncle to, who he had brought gifts to.

"Was it your idea to play the trick, Isabella, or did someone put you up to it." Haji treaded on thin ice, he wanted to know if she'd been corrupted, if she'd gone the way of her mother. He held out hope she was just a foolish girl in the hands of a mad man.

"It was Uncle Nathan who fist thought it up!" She clapped her hands in delight. "He told me that I could see you, but I had to be in disguise, or you'd take me back. I learned how to play the violin! You should have seen me, I learned so fast! Then I found a picture of a girl in a magazine who I thought you'd find pretty. Nathan had some of his friends get me a job in the restaurant and got me into the same orchestra as you! Isn't that great!"

Haji didn't respond for a long while. Finally, "Did 'uncle' Nathan tell you what he wanted you to do?"

She frowned. "He gave me a lot of romance novels. He said you could be my chevalier, we could have babies, and live together forever!"

Haji rolled his eyes to the kitchen door, wondering if Nathan was behind it, monitoring. To be safe he lowered his voice. "Bella, how could you want such a thing? I am your uncle."

Isabella shook her head violently. "No. Nathan explained everything to me. Everything about our kind, and how queens work. You are unrelated to my aunt except that you are her chevalier. I am a Blue Queen, whatever that means, and it's destiny that I be with someone like you! Someone like Haji!" A grand gleaming smile broke over her face. "It's really romantic! I've always wanted a chevalier; I've always wanted to be in love…." Her face turned dark and stormy. "But _they_ denied me."

"They?" Haji rose to sit closer to her, trying to bring down the volume of her voice.

"Red Shield." She whispered back. "Nathan says they wanted to control our kind, they didn't want vampires to reproduce because they are afraid of us! But it is our right to reproduce! It is our right to love, and be loved, and to have families. Humans are not above us! If anything we are above them! They have no right to hold us down and use us for their means. Nathan made me see all this. He's a nice man, and this organization is working for the welfare of our kind. Yours and mine Haji!" she gripped his arms hopefully.

"Nathan is the one using you. He wants to breed you like an animal at the zoo, like an experiment. He's taking up the project of a man who lived 30 years ago. A man I fought together with Saya." Haji leaned back in his chair at the sudden look on the girl's face.

"Don't say that name around me!" She screamed and flew from her chair, tisking her finger at him. "It wasn't until I came here that I found out the truth! When I was at Red Shield the only thing I ever heard was how great Saya was, and how she did such wonderful things, she saved us all! But it was all a lie!" Tears were threatening from the edges of her eyes. "Saya tracked down and killed my mother! She was going to kill me and my sister too! She wanted to kill off all of our kind! Her OWN kind, because humans told her to do it!" Isabella fell at Haji's knees. "But it was you, you saved us. You convinced her not to kill us, you told her to let our species live on." Desperately she found his hand and hung onto it. "You want our kind to go on? Then help me. We can do it, together." Her voice was pleading

Haji couldn't bring himself to pull away from her, despite the revulsion rising in his throat. "Did Nathan tell you why Saya had to kill your mother? Did he tell you that your mother, Diva, killed countless innocent people for fun? That she killed the two men Saya knew as fathers, she killed Saya's brother, her other Chevalier?"

"My mother killed out of self defense! She was being hunted down like an animal! That's what _they_ see us as, animals! Vermin to be exterminated. That's what they called us right, Mice?!"

Haji reached for her, but just then the door swung open. "Having fun I trust?" Nathan's voice was full of threats.

"Oh, Uncle Nathan… yes, everything is fine." Isabella blushed and hugged herself tightly.

"Then I trust you would like to take Haji here up to your room, play the violin for him a little?" Nathan's blonde eyebrows were sky high.

"Why don't you go, Nathan. Or aren't you man enough." Haji's voice remained monotone but still, it was unusual for him to be riled enough to resort to insults. He would regret it later.

The other man was on him in a second, needle at the ready.

"No!" Isabella yelled, and both men came to a halt. "What is wrong with you Nathan?! Haji is our guest! My future husband!"

"I'm sorry." Nathan's voice suddenly became very catering. "I'll just help our guest upstairs. Go wait for us in your room."

"No." Isabella shook her beet red face. "If Haji doesn't want to come to my room yet, don't force him." She looked down, about to cry.

"Er… Whatever you want, princess." Nathan smiled lightly and placed Haji in the hands of two strong men. "I'm sure Haji will very nicely cooperate and go to his room."

Days passed. Haji sat at dinner with Isabella, he walked with her in the garden, listen to her read stories out of the hopelessly romantic books she seemed to collect, but he never so much as took her hand. The stain of it all was showing clearly on the girl's face.

Finally one day she broke as they sat, very innocently, on the chairs of her suite. "Haji, what's wrong with me?"

Haji softened for the first time in a long while. "Nothing, we are the way we are for a reason."

"No, I mean… why don't you like me?" Her word, like, was loaded with meaning.

"Isabella… I love you." His voice was just a hiss above the fire burning in the fireplace.

"Then why don't you want to be with me? Don't you want to be mine!?" Tears were streaming down her face this time.

Haji was silent for a long moment. "You are like my niece, Isabella. Nothing more."

She shook her face violently. "You liked me as Suki. I can be Suki again! Remember the kiss you gave her!?"

"There is another…"

Isabella threw the book from her lap into the fire. "I see… get out." She sat still for a moment, until she could see the black tails of his suit disappear out the door. "_She_ has to ruin everything!" Sniffing back the tears she plunged her finger to the buzzer at her bedside. It wasn't long before Nathan responded.

"Yes my little Blue Princess?!" He chimed, not bothering to knock.

"Nathan, I need a picture of 'auntie' Saya."

"How could you have no more information?" Saya growled out and slammed the portfolio shut. "It's been days, and I'm just sitting here waiting for you to tell me where to go, where he may be! You should just let me go out and look."

"That is irrational. Haji could be anywhere, you'll never find him just wondering around. It's like a needle in a hay stack." Kia shook his head.

"And meanwhile who knows what's going on with him… what they've made him do!" Saya sat back in her chair, she was itching just to break out on her own.

David sighed. "There has been one break in the case. It's been discovered that just before the attack in which Haji was abducted, a few security cameras were disabled in the garden. Only someone inside Red Shield could have done it. Currently, all personal are going through a thorough background check and interrogation."

Saya's eyes grew wide. "Someone in Red Shield working for the other side?"

"It can happen in any organization." Joel corrected.

Saya sighed, her head falling backward. "If any of the staff divulges clues, any clue. Come wake me up, I'll be ready to go." And with that she marched out of the room.

It wasn't until Saya was safely inside her room, sprawled out on the bed, that she let her shoulders release the shutter she'd been holding inside. Finally, after days of keeping it at bay, Saya wept. Was it true, was her kind just meant to be bad, meant to fight, creatures of war? Was it always to be sister against sister? Clan against clan? Chevalier against chevalier? Was one chevalier always meant to fall, so that another set of twin enemies may be born?

She rolled over, taking to covers with her. Maybe Haji didn't even want rescued. After all, it had been so long, nothing could have held Haji this long, no restraints…. The only possibly was that he was dead, or just unwilling to come back. She couldn't say she blamed him.

He had traveled with her for over a hundred years, watched over her for decades at a time. Devoted his entire life to her, threw himself into battle for her sake without a second thought… she didn't know how many times. And only disobeyed her once. And what had she done for him? At most she'd treated him as her closest friend, and at the worst moments she treated him as a manservant. He had wanted neither.

Thirty years ago, his last words to her before was willing to sacrifice his life for her. He had said… and what had she done when? Not responded, even after she woke. Even thirty years later, she had not responded to him. He had been waiting all this time, and had gone unanswered. Had he found someone else now, to spend eternity with? Someone who wasn't cold and hard from battle? Someone still young, and innocent, and capable of believing in perfect love. Someone with time, and energy, who would look into his eyes, and not be thinking of her next battle. And if he did, who was she to take that away. But… could she live without Haji. She had never really given him a lot of thought, he had simply always been. Yet, now… there didn't seem to be a Saya without Haji. She fell asleep this way, thoughts running through her head, and tears dried on her cheeks.

The wind blew softly over her bear arms, chilling her. The only sound was that of her breathing, hissing and deep in her own ears. Saya moaned as her hair was swept from her face with a gentle hand. "umm… Haji's hands are so comforting." It took her a moment to realize the contrast of those words. Slowly she opened her eyes, afraid of what's she'd find.

There he was, perfect as always. His black hair hanging down in waves over his bent face. Eyes the shade of the ocean during a storm. That same peaceful stony look on his lips. Placid eyebrows. "Haji…" Saya breathed and reached to touch his face, his hair, his chest, just to make sure he was solid, real. He was. "How…"

His slim finger came over her lip, hushing her. Haji placed his hand over hers, nuzzling his face into her palm. Then suddenly his grip turned harder as he turned her wrist, pinning it on the pillows above her head.

"Haji… I'm sorry." Saya would have said more, but his lips were closing over hers, soft at first, and than strong. Saya responded in the same manor. Taking him lip, his mouth, anything he would offer. He was home, and this felt right, like this was how it was always supposed to be. When he finally released her mouth, Saya tipped her head to his ear and whispered the words she had practiced so carefully, an answer she had just found.

If she'd have seen his face, she might have caught the uncharacteristic grin on his lips. But she didn't. And as the weight his body pressed down on her firmly, Saya gave over control to the will of her Chevalier.

Dusty mid morning light streamed into the room, forcing Saya's eyes to creep open carefully. She stretched with a smile and moaned, greeting the new day. Things would be okay now. Today they would start everything they needed to do.

It didn't take her long to dress and run down the stairs through the long hallways to the breakfast table. "Saya!" Kia dropped his fork in surprise as she opened the door so hard it nearly broke the 100 year old cherry paneling of the dinning room. "Sit down. It's not like you sleep in late when breakfast is in the air."

"Where is he? Did he come down to get me a plate!?" Saya's face was bright enough to light up the room.

"Er… Who?" Kia was the one to say it, but everyone gave her the same confused and slightly worried look.

Saya stopped, tilting her head as if they were the crazy ones. "Haji!" She exclaimed. "He came back last night…." Her voice was trailing off, the look in their faces was darkening her mood. "He… he came to my room."

Everyone looked at each other for a long time. It was David who took up the task of breaking her hopes. "I'm sorry, Saya, there has been no sign of Haji. He hasn't been here."

"But…" Saya blushed brightly. "I saw him.."

"It must have been a dream." Kia slowly got up from the table to wrap his arms around her shoulder.

"A dream…" She repeated, her whole body going a nice shade of pink. "Oh. Yes a dream."

"What did you dream?" David broke in. "You and Haji have a connection. It is possible you reached his mind in your dream. Did you see any images of where he might be held?" But he frowned when she only shook her head.

Julia, the one remaining woman, besides the hopelessly naive Sophia, was the one to come to her rescue. "You look a little sick. Come to the lab, It's time for your treatment. You can take your breakfast with you."

Haji sat at the window, as he had for hours now. He couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched every moment when he was in the picturesque French château.

Suddenly, he became aware of eyes directly on him. He needn't turn, he knew who it was. As usual he had nothing to say.

"Did you _see_ Isabella while I was gone?" Nathan quipped.

"No." Haji didn't turn from his spot.

"I'm only going to be so patient. Their will come a time when I'll demand it, or there will be consequences." Nathan hummed.

"You have shown me no proof you could harm Saya. You probably can't even get to her. She is too strong for you." Haji didn't let him see the look in his eyes.

"Oh really?" There came a laugh. "Why don't you look here, dear Haji?" Nathan only laughed harder when he beheld the look on the other man's face. It must have been like looking in a mirror. Nathan brushed the black hair from his face with a flourish. "I rather like being you, Haji. Such nice hair, and this body…" He hummed lowly.

"What are you up to, Nathan." Haji said lowly.

"I just went to give my… I mean _your_ best to Saya." Nathan reveled in the, for once, intense look in Haji's eyes.

"Saya would never believe you were me." He growled.

"Huh." Nathan pulled something pink and frilly from the pocket of his coat, and threw it at Haji. It was the intimates given to Saya by Julia when she first woke. His queen's sent was heavy on them. "She's willing to believe anything right now. And she was very, very happy to see you."

Nathan hardly got out of the way as Haji came flying through the air at him, one hand turned sharp and red. "Now we see it!! Such fire! Such passion! I love it Haji!!" His high chortle rang through the room as one wall slid away to reveal a stark white laboratory behind glass. Scientists in clean white jackets stood, plastered to the glass to get a glimpse of their specimen.

Haji's attacks were usually well thought out, and without wasted movement. Yet, as he chased Nathan around the room, Haji was erratic and uncontrolled. Furniture splintered and walls cracked. Soon Nathan began to worry he'd gotten in over his head.

"Put him down!" Nathan yelled, dodging a wicked claw from Haji.

Something hit Haji in the neck and he suddenly felt very sick, like something was attacking his very blood cells. He gave one last good lunge toward Nathan and fell flat on his face on the bed.


End file.
